News & articles

Researchers from The Open University’s Institute of Educational Technology have received international recognition at the 2026 EDEN Annual Conference in Porto, with two papers shortlisted for the prestigious EDEN Best Research Paper Award and one selected as the overall winner.

The Open University has been awarded £130,000 from The Leverhulme Trust to support a major new research project, entitled: ‘Musically Stuck: immobile musicians and mobile music between Tunisia and Europe’.

As the world turns its attention to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a major new Open University research project has secured £201,665 from the Swiss National Science Foundation to examine how football crowds, police forces and stadium authorities interact during high-profile matches and how these interactions can be managed more safely and effectively across Europe.

Researchers from The Open University, working with colleagues from University College London and Diamond Light Source, have revealed in a new paper how seemingly simple salts on the surface of the Solar System’s icy moons can provide important clues about their interior workings.

A new publication from the Commonwealth of Learning, authored by Professor Sara de Freitas and Professor Denise Whitelock at The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology, offers timely guidance on the responsible use of conversational agents in tertiary education

In their inaugural lectures on 23 June 2026, Professors Victoria Nicholas and Francesco Crea explored how the right support helps Open University students thrive, and how changes in how cells read DNA can drive cancer — and how this knowledge is opening the door to more precise treatments.

A new Open University research project, Music as Cultural Refuge, has been awarded £186,751 by the Arts & Humanities Research Council to explore how young people in Northern Ireland used music to navigate the emotional and social pressures of the Troubles.

The Open University has been awarded £254,000 from the UK Space Agency to advance the UK’s scientific leadership on the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin Rover Mission, launching in 2028.

A new Open University research project will use cutting edge space telescope data and advanced cosmological simulations to uncover how galaxies like our own Milky Way were built.

US economic growth is picking up again after a slowdown towards the end of 2025. According to price data released on May 28, US GDP grew by 1.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026